Shadows in Flight

November 28, 2011
Card’s fifth novel narrated by Julian “Bean” Delphiki (after Shadow of the Giant) mingles transcendent strangeness and didacticism. On a spaceship cut off from the rest of civilization, Julian is raising his three remarkable children, doomed to die young by the engineered genes that also make them inhumanly brilliant. Triplets Cincinnatus, Carlotta, and Ender (named for Bean’s old classmate) are only six years old and already smarter than nearly any adult, but just as emotionally immature as any children. Bean tries setting them up as an incestuously reproducing super-race who will be parents at age eight and dead at 22, but when an unidentified alien ship appears, the children eagerly embrace a less depressing way to prove themselves. Bean’s endless lectures make him appear a mouthpiece for the author; his children’s snarky resentment of being talked down to will similarly ring true for readers. Agent: Barbara Bova Literary Agency.

December 1, 2011
Warning: Do not attempt to appreciate this book without at least some familiarity with Card's child-warrior Ender series. Previously in Shadow of the Giant (2005), military supergenius Bean fled Earth with his three surviving children aboard a starship; at the relativistic speeds of which the ship is capable, time-dilation effects may enable them to stay alive long enough for medical researchers to find a cure. They all have Anton's Key, which gives them tremendously accelerated and enhanced growth and intelligence, the profound drawback being that they never stop growing and will die before reaching the age of 30. Bean is already more than 14 feet tall and so debilitated that he can survive only in microgravity. The children—they call themselves "leguminotes"—biologist Ender, engineer Carlotta and warrior Sergeant, are 6-year-old late-adolescents and far smarter if no less quarrelsome than any other human. But they need a purpose other than mere survival—Ender, keyed into the latest research via ansible, the instantaneous communicator Card and others borrowed from Ursula Le Guin, suspects that a cure may not just be improbable, but impossible—so fatherly Bean has secretly steered them towards a surprising, not altogether unexpected but certainly intriguing confrontation. No further characterization is practicable without giving away what little plot there is, but don't worry, plotting has never been what Card is all about. The author has always superbly written about children, and here he's in top form. The original Ender, still roaming the galaxy in search of redemption, rarely gets a mention: bad news for Enders, good news for leguminotes. If you still prefer Ender to Bean after this, you're really hardcore.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2012

Julian "Bean" Delphiki, a friend of the legendary Ender Wiggin (Ender's Game) from the Battle School during the war against the alien Formics, has left Earth along with his three children to spend the remainder of their artificially short lives among the stars. Bean and his children all have Anton Syndrome, a condition defined by hyperintelligence and gigantism that results in a life span of under 25 years. Hoping to use their knowledge to discover a cure for their condition, the space travelers encounter an alien ship that may contain a surprising answer to their problem. Picking up where Shadow of the Giant leaves off, Card deals with the repercussions of bioengineering for the human species. VERDICT Card's graceful storytelling gives this narrative the feel of a parable or a futuristic myth; it is bound to please the author's fan base and readers who enjoyed the first book.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-Julian "Bean" Delphiki's story continues in this thrilling installment of Card's acclaimed sci-fi saga. More than four centuries have passed since Earth's scientists first activated Anton's Key, a double-edged genetic mutation granting both hyperintelligence and a painfully fatal form of gigantism. On Earth, the once-desperate quest for a cure has been forgotten. Hurtling through space at light speed, Bean and his three infected children still seek a solution. They find it aboard an abandoned Formic colony ship. In studying a mysterious plague that appeared to have killed the ship's previous inhabitants, the children believe they've discovered how to alter their own cellular structure so as to keep their intelligence while doing away with the more undesirable side effects of Anton Syndrome. Only time will tell if their experiment will be successful. Card's storytelling and world-building are fantastic, and fans of the series will surely be pleased. However, the story is complex and only minimal background is provided. Familiarity with the previous books is required to appreciate the intricacies of this one.-Alissa J. LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.